Rival Love
by ashxfizzy
Summary: After wishing upon a shooting star, Ash Sparrow has somehow been trasnported to the Pokemon Universe! There are many challenges along her Pokemon journey. Will she find and unlikely friendship with her rival Gary Oak, or perhaps something more? GaryxOC
1. A Whole New World

**Hey there, guys. **

**I wrote this a while ago, and for whatever reason I put off posting it. So i'm doing that now. **

**I hope you enjoy this new story!**

* * *

I sighed, closing my red 3DS and placing it gently on the bedside table. I flopped onto my bed, staring up at the ceiling fan as it turned in slow, lazy circles. "Sometimes I really think I was born in the wrong world." I said aloud, though no one was there to hear me.

Now, let me backtrack and explain a little bit. My name is Ash. Well, technically it's Ashley, but I've been going by Ash for years. I'm 17, and I'm one of the biggest Pokémon maniacs around. I've been in love with the game ever since I played the original Blue version on my Gameboy Color.

But, back to the present day. Pokémon Black and White 2 had just recently been released, and while I absolutely adored the game, I couldn't help but miss the good old days when there were only 151 Pokémon and Gary Oak showed up at the worst possible times.

A smile crossed my face at the thought. If I could live in the Pokémon world, everything would just be better. Why? Because I could have Pokémon, of course! And getting to wipe that smug smirk off Gary's face wouldn't hurt, either.

I couldn't help but start giggling. Yes, I admit it; I'd had a huge crush on Gary when I was little. So what if he was a fictional character? He was one badass 10 year old.

I rolled onto my side and looked up, out the window. I could see the thin crescent moon and the bright pinpoints of stars in the deep, dark night sky. Suddenly, a flash of white light blazed across the sky.

**A shooting star!**

Watching the faint trail it left behind, I whispered my wish. "I wish I lived in the Pokémon world."

It was a bit of a stupid wish, I know, but sometimes all you can do is wish, even if you know it won't come true.

With my wish and the image of the shooting star still fresh in my mind, I rolled over, pulled up the covers, and fell quickly asleep.

* * *

Warm sunlight woke me the next morning. It was Saturday, and that meant no school. Still in yesterday's t-shirt and fuzzy Pikachu PJ pants, I crawled out of bed and made my way downstairs.

The first sign of anything being strange was that the house was completely empty, which was rather uncommon for a Saturday morning. I paid it no attention, though, and simply went hunting for breakfast.

I came up with a chocolate chip muffin as my prize, but it was gone much too quickly. **Oh well.**

It was about then that I heard some strange noises coming from outside. Wiping any leftover chocolate from my mouth with the back of my hand, I walked out to investigate, and froze.

**Where the hell am I?! **Instead of the usual cul-de-sac I lived on, my house was sitting right in the middle of what looked like a little town. It was small- there were no more than ten buildings in the whole place, and from where I stood in my doorway, I could see them all.

"Oh, hello there!" A somehow familiar voice brought me back to reality. "You must be Ash Sparrow, the girl who just moved in. It's a pleasure to meet you!" The voice belonged to an aging man with white/grey hair. "The names Oak, though everyone tends to call me Professor." He smiled kindly at me and started walking again. "You should come by my Laboratory later. It's just down the road. I'd love to show you around." And then he had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

It took my brain a few minutes to process everything it had just learned. **Oak. Professor. New in town. Laboratory… Professor Oak's Laboratory!**

Oh God… Somehow, by some miraculous magic or something, my wish had come true. "This is Pallet Town! I knew it looked familiar! And that was Professor Oak! Oh. My. God! I'm in the Pokémon world!"

I couldn't explain how it had happened, because I honestly didn't have any idea myself. All I knew was that I had somehow been taken to another world. A world where I knew every corner, every trick, a world where I was invincible- except I wasn't. This wasn't a game where I had an undefeatable army. These Pokémon would be real, and I didn't have any.

Finally able to move again after the initial shock, I raced upstairs to get changed. I had to get to Professor Oaks, ASAP! I threw on dark blue skinny jeans, a white tank top with a short black vest and black and white converse high-tops.

I was rushing like mad, but suddenly stopped as I was reaching for my bag, struck with a sudden curiosity. It was simple black over the shoulder bag with a pokeball on the front. The inside was divided into sections to keep it organized.

"I wonder…" I began walking through the house and packing anything I might need on a long trip into my bag. My IPod, headphones, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, chargers, a wide array of clothes and food, and even a sleeping bag, pillow, and blanket.

Despite all of the stuff I had miraculously crammed into it, my bag weighed hardly anything and looked pretty empty. "Yes! This is sooo sweet!" If there was one thing I could count on, it was the crazy logic of the Pokémon world.

I quickly ran a brush through my bright red hair, dropped it in the bag, and headed out the door.

* * *

I must admit, Pallet town looked a bit different in real life than it did in the game_ or_ the anime.

I wasn't quite sure where to go at first, but I let my intuition guide me to the large building atop the big hill.

A metal fence ran around the perimeter of the large property, and I slipped through the gate and made my way up to the front door. Hesitantly I turned the knob, and when it opened, I walked inside.

"Hello? Professor Oak?" I called out. Maybe I'd beaten him here?

"Oh, Ash! My, you sure are fast." The Professor appeared around a corner and beckoned me to follow him. "So tell me, Ash, how old are you?"

"I'm 17." I responded as I followed him down a rather long hallway. We entered a room that looked very familiar, and I had to keep from bouncing up and down with excitement at actually being there.

"17? You're the same age as my grandson!" Oak said with a smile. **So little Gary's all grown up, huh? **The professor snapped me out of the thought, though, when he asked a question a little more difficult to answer. "So surely you must have had plenty of adventures with your Pokémon by now?"

My initial reaction was to say yes, I'd gone on many adventures. I had traveled every known region, caught every Pokémon around, beaten the Elite Four more times than I could count, and even saved the world a few times. But with a sinking feeling I realized that I actually hadn't.

"No, Professor, I'm afraid I haven't. You see, where I'm from, Pokémon are no more than a fantasy. They may as well not exist there." This seemed to thoroughly shock the Professor, for he turned towards me with his mouth agape. "Then I've found you just in time!"

He began scurrying around the lab, looking for something and muttering. "A girl your age never having had a Pokémon… It's just horrible!" As he was busy searching, I heard the front door open and close again, and a very familiar voice called out: "Yo Gramps, I'm here!"

Professor Oak, still searching, called back, "Ah, Gary, I'm in the back with Ash. You should come say hello!" **So Gary finally decides to make an appearance…**

"Ashy-boy is here? Oh, this oughta be good." His footsteps rang through the hall as he walked back to where we were. "Up for a little match, Ashy-boy?" He round the corner, but when he saw me his taunting stopped.

His green gaze looked me up and down before he spoke. "You're _definitely_ not Ashy-boy." His tone was slightly curious, and the Professor spoke up from where he was digging through a drawer. "No, Gary, this is Ash Sparrow. She just moved here from, well, frankly I don't know where, but she's here now and that's all that matters."

I nodded absently, but my head was elsewhere. My own blue-green gaze was locked on the doorway where Gary was still standing. He must have noticed my staring, because a smirk formed on his lips. "I know I'm gorgeous, but staring like that is kind of rude."

"I wasn't looking at _you, _Gary. I was looking at your beautiful Umbreon." The dark-type, seeming to sense he was being talking about, took a few steps forward, studying me with his ruby red eyes.

Gary's smirk softened into an actual smile. "You like Umbreons?" He asked, and I nodded, a large smile forming on my lips. "I love them. Umbreon is my absolute favorite Pokémon! I've always wanted one."

Crouching down, I smiled at the black and yellow Pokémon. "Hey, Umbreon. Do you mind if I pet you?" Gary scoffed. "I wouldn't bother. Umbreon doesn't like strangers, especially girls."

That said, he was rendered speechless when Umbreon trotted over to me and rested his head in my hand. I stroked his long, silky ears and scratched under his chin, and Umbreon made a happy rumbling noise.

Gary stood dumbstruck, staring at me. I simply smiled at him in return, still petting Umbreon. "That's really weird." Gary muttered, running a hand through his spiky brown hair.

It was then that Professor Oak returned, looking defeated. "I'm sorry, Ash, I looked everywhere but I'm afraid I'm all out of Pokémon."

Gary's eyes flashed with interest. "You don't have any Pokémon yet?" I shook my head no. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then, reaching for his belt, he unhooked a small pokeball and tossed it gently to me. "Here."

I caught the pokeball and looked back up at Gary. "It's an Eevee." He said, his green gaze locked on mine. "She just hatched so she's weak, but I have a feeling you can train her well."

I was filled with confusion as I asked simply. "Why?"

"I have a good feeling about you." He said with a smile. "Umbreon has taken a liking to you, which never happens. You're special, Ash, I'm just not quite sure how yet. But I'll figure it out. And take good care of that Eevee. You can bet I'll find you again to check up on her." He flashed a final grin, and then Gary Oak was gone, leaving me with an Eevee and a whole lot of questions only he could answer.


	2. The Start of a Beautiful Rivalry

**Hello, fellow trainers! Everyone having a nice summer so far? **

**Now that I'm on vacation I'm working on getting back into the groove of writing again, even though I'm busy with college stuff and a social life and yeah. **

**Anyways, here's chapter 2 ^_^**

* * *

"Well, that certainly was unexpected." Professor Oak said, voicing my own thoughts as he scratched his head. "But it most definitely solves the problem of me having no more Pokémon."

I nodded at his words, but my attention was entirely on the small pokeball in my hands.

"Even though it will be weak from having just hatched, that Eevee will bond with you immensely when you release it from its pokeball. It will see you as its mother, and I can already tell that you will love it as much as it will soon love you."

I looked up at the Professor to see him smiling gently at me. He gave a small nod, which I returned, before turning my attention back to the pokeball in my hand. I gently clicked the button once, enlarging the ball, and with only a moment's hesitation, clicked it again.

A bright white light erupted from the ball, materializing into the form of a small quadruped. The light faded, and the little Eevee looked up at me with her large brown eyes. "Ee?"

I could feel my eyes going wide at the insane amount of cuteness standing before me. I dropped quickly to my knees, holding my arms open, and my Eevee happily bounced onto my lap. Jumping up, she put her front paws on my chest and looked me in the eye before licking my nose and cuddling into my neck.

"I had a feeling that's what would happen." Professor Oak was saying as I wrapped my arms around Eevee and stood back up, shifting her body so I was cradling her in my arms. "I have something around here that I want to give you since I couldn't give you a Pokémon; I just need to find it." Oak started rummaging through drawers and cabinets again as he spoke. "Oh, and why not think about giving your Eevee a nickname?" He suggested.

**Nickname? I've got just the thing. **"That's a wonderful idea, Professor." I said, smiling. "I think I'll name her Bandit. Perfect for when she evolves."

"I assume you've already decided on Umbreon then?" Oak asked with a laugh, to which I replied with an eager nod. "Here, I'd like you to have this." The Professor handed me a little pouch. I opened it, and inside were many little candy-like objects. "It's all vitamins; protein, zinc, iron, calcium, carbos and even a few rare candies. If you feed them all to Bandit, she'll become quite a bit stronger and it will be much easier for you to start your journey, as I'm sure you'll want to do. And with that being said, there is one more thing I need to give you. A Pokedex."

From his coat pocket the Professor pulled a classic Dexter Pokedex and handed it to me. "For a trainer, a Pokedex is everything. It's your I.D., it tells you about any Pokémon you see, and it can give you all the information on your own Pokémon, such as what moves it knows, its strengths and weaknesses, and its level."

"Thank you, Professor Oak. Really." The Professor smiled kindly. "Have fun. Enjoy your adventure. And once you're all big and strong, do me a favor and show Gary what you're made of." I couldn't help but laugh as I left the lab.

Once outside, I found a nice spot under a tree, put Bandit down on the grass and started feeding her the vitamins the Professor had given me. I watched her stats on my Pokedex grow as she ate them all, and when she finished, it was time to do what any veteran trainer did when they weren't strong enough- level grind.

Grinding was definitely different in real life from the game. We fought a lot more trainers than wild Pokémon, mostly because wilds didn't jump out every few steps and attack us. They mostly just ignored us, honestly. And the trainers that we did fight didn't jump up and demand a battle as soon as they saw us- some asked politely, some taunted, and some still just ignored us. It was _weird_.

* * *

We'd been battling our way up route 1- and making quite a decent amount of cash from winning- when we hit Viridian City and finally took a break. I headed straight for the Pokémon Center with Bandit right beside me. I already wasn't fond of keeping her in her pokeball, and she seemed to prefer walking with me anyway.

"Well, well, well, look who finally made it to Viridian City." I'd know that teasing voice anywhere. I walked towards the voice and found Gary sitting on a bench and leaning back against the wall. "Yes, and it was _so_ nice of you to wait around for me, but you really didn't need to. Bandit and I are doing great." Bandit barked in agreement.

For the first time Gary's green eyes looked down at the little Eevee beside me. Concern flashed briefly across his features at the sight of her small body covered with various scratch marks and small cuts. "It looks like you had a rough time on your way here." He observed skeptically, but I immediately denied it. "Oh no, we just did a little training on our way. We took out-what was it? - 12 trainers?" I looked down at Bandit, and she barked, nodding.

Gary raised an eyebrow- he clearly hadn't been expecting that. "You're doing quite a lot better than I thought you would." He said, and I couldn't help but smirk. "Now you listen to me, Gary Oak. I may be a novice here, but where I'm from, I'm a master. I know more about Pokémon than you could _ever imagine_. You have no idea what I can do, and underestimating me will be the worst thing you've ever done." I walked away with that warning, to the counter to have Bandit healed, and for once, Gary Oak was the one left speechless in the dust.


End file.
